NEW YORK: World number one Jannik Sinner sets his sights on the US Open semi-finals for the second time on Wednesday when he renews his rivalry with Daniil Medvedev, the only former champion left in the men’s tournament.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, the champion in 2022, looks to take a step closer to a sixth Grand Slam title when she faces US hope Jessica Pegula.
AFP Sport looks at Wednesday’s four quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows (x denotes seeding):
Jannik Sinner (ITA x1) v Daniil Medvedev (RUS x5)
Head-to-head: Medvedev leads 7-5
- Australian Open champion Sinner defeated Medvedev from two sets to love down to capture his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
The top seeded Italian is the favourite to add a second in New York on Sunday after the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev captured his only Slam title at the 2021 US Open where he shattered Djokovic’s dream of completing a rare calendar Grand Slam. The Russian is also a two-time runner-up.
Both men dropped a set in their opening matches at this year’s tournament but have since sailed through.
They have met three times already this season with Sinner winning in Melbourne and Miami before Medvedev came out on top in a five-set quarter-final at Wimbledon.
“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev.
Jack Draper (GBR x25) v Alex de Minaur (AUS x10)
Head-to-head: De Minaur leads 3-0
- Left-handed Draper is into his first Grand Slam quarter-final and is the first British man to make the last eight in New York since Andy Murray in 2016.
Draper has not dropped a set over four rounds, winning 47 of 48 service games and saving 20 of 21 break points.
Daniil Medvedev, Jack Draper roll into US Open quarterfinals
“I just need to keep going,” Draper said. “I have great people around me and I love playing here in New York… I love playing on the big stage.”
De Minaur is also looking to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final and is playing in his first tournament since a hip injury forced him to hand Novak Djokovic a walkover in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
De Minaur made the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows in 2020 when he lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
Iga Swiatek (POL x1) v Jessica Pegula (USA x6)
Head-to-head: Swiatek leads 6-3
- Four-time French Open champion Swiatek is seeking a second US Open after winning the 2022 title.
In that title run, the Pole defeated Pegula, also in the quarter-finals.
Pegula is playing in her seventh Grand Slam quarter-final – and second in New York – but has never made it to the semi-finals.
She hasn’t dropped a set at the tournament and is on a 13-1 run on US hard courts this summer, successfully defending her Canada title before finishing runner-up to world number two Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati.
Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA x22) v Karolina Muchova (CZE)
Head to-head: Muchova leads 3-0
- A semi-finalist 12 months ago, Muchova then suffered a serious wrist injury which sidelined her until June this year.
The stylish Czech, a former top 10 player now ranked at 52, has yet to drop a set, knocking out two-time champion Naomi Osaka and this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini.
Left-hander Haddad Maia, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, is the first Brazilian woman to reach the quarter-finals in New York since Maria Bueno in 1968.
She cut an emotional figure after her last-16 win over Caroline Wozniacki when she revealed that the son of her physio had passed away.
“The only thought that I have now is that I’m going to fight until the end and try to give everything on court for him,” said the 28-year-old.
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